Robert Coe

Director of Research and Development at Evidence Based Education @EvidenceInEdu; Senior Associate @EducEndowFoundn; Previously Professor of Education at Durham

[Robert Coe @ProfCoe]

@IRIS_Founder Agreed. ‘Implementation is everything’ so if something is hard to implement well at scale it won’t work at scale. It doesn’t matter how many studies of a well-defined version of it have positive results.

[Robert Coe @ProfCoe]

Feels a bit weird to have all my predictions about instructional coaching at scale confirmed by a strong study (it didn’t work)

[Ammar A. Merhbi @AmmarMerhbi]

Cautionary tale!
Instructional coaching is usually seen as a safe bet for school improvement. But a recent EEPA study of a $20M/year coaching rollout across 130 schools paints a very different picture. Despite spending about $5,800 per teacher on the program, the district saw:
Zero improvement in teacher retention.
Flat ELA scores.
Math scores that actually leaned negative.

It turns out that the logistics of scaling killed the impact.
First, the district simply ran out of top-tier talent. To fill all the open roles, they had to start drafting average teachers as coaches.
Second, pulling their best teachers out of classrooms for half the day hurt students more than the peer coaching helped.
Finally, 80% of coaches were eventually tasked with summative evaluations, destroying the trust and vulnerability required for actual instructional growth.

It’s a great reminder that structural changes don't automatically improve the instructional core.

more on it here: https://t.co/MF3dpG3aG8

[Jim Knight 🇺🇦 @jimknight99]

Two things. First it looks like the study shows that poorly implemented Instructional Coaching Group. It looks like they lost the focus not the Coaching itself doesn’t work. When teams have a shared goal they all really care about great things happen but little good happens if the team doesn’t care about the goal.

[Evidence Based Education @EvidenceInEdu]

What does great teaching look like in practice?

This is what our Great Teaching Toolkit member schools have been doing this month:

• 730 self-reflections shaping practice
• 663 development cycles driving improvement
• 2,227 evidence-informed techniques adopted
• 4,089 resources accessed
• 1,189 courses started
• 11 feedback videos uploaded by educators

Find out more about the Toolkit and what it can do for you here
https://t.co/3tAGxwryih

[Harry Fletcher-Wood @HFletcherWood]

In Chalk & Change 9 - I talk to @JohnPeterJerrim again, discussing PISA 2025 results.

What do they really tell us about improvement in English schools?

https://t.co/aFJZ5tLELL

[Adam Boxer @adamboxer1]

According to the EEF:

"Strong universal provision reduces the number of pupils who require additional support"

But what does that look like in reality? Recent blog and video 👇👇

Please share if you can. It can make a difference.

https://t.co/97e7nKDU02

[Gérald Tirot @TirotG]

Que faudrait-il pour repenser en profondeur la #formationcontinue des #enseignants ? @ProfKime et @ProfCoe plaident en faveur d'une révolution dans la manière dont les établissements scolaires abordent le développement pro des enseignants.
@S_Oberle
https://t.co/pDtwYcv1Lk

[Evidence Based Education @EvidenceInEdu]

Are you ready for the Great Teaching Toolkit? 💪

Although the Great Teaching Toolkit is available to all, not every school is ready for it – and that’s ok. Every school is on its own journey.

But how do you know if your school’s culture, philosophy, and priorities make the Toolkit a good fit for you now?

Find out here 👇
https://t.co/74wC7AeMw8

[Evidence Based Education @EvidenceInEdu]

Same ambition, better access.
Our new Inclusion course, available within the Great Teaching Toolkit, explores how teachers can maintain ambitious goals for every learner while noticing, reducing and removing barriers to learning and participation.

It’s part of our wider approach to inclusive teaching, grounded in a simple belief:
Great teaching is inclusive teaching.

Explore the course, feedback tools and practical support for inclusive teaching 👇
https://t.co/JYXmiHWaCj

[Robert Coe @ProfCoe]

@adamboxer1 @AndBerwick Which probably means that even the (more optimistic) teacher perception is also an over-estimate

[Robert Coe @ProfCoe]

Thanks to everyone who donated- we raised over £1700, which is amazing!

Still time to give if you wanted to …

[Robert Coe @ProfCoe]

I’m running the Great North Run for #TeamMind with my daughter. Any encouragement for us, and support for a great charity, would be very much appreciated 🙏
https://t.co/BvCkgGMADY

[Robert Coe @ProfCoe]

@Stephen_Logan @Great_Run Thank you!

[Robert Coe @ProfCoe]

Slides from my #rED26 talk are here https://t.co/2oy9PBKkdY

[Evidence Based Education @EvidenceInEdu]

Tomorrow, we’ll be at the @researchED1 National Conference!

As one of the main sponsor we are looking forward to the event and we are also releasing our new paper tomorrow!

Professor Rob Coe will present We Need a Revolution in Professional Learning, the session named after our new paper of the same name.

Rob will explore what that looks like in practice including why professional learning needs to be protected, deliberately designed and evaluated for impact.

If you are there, we'll be giving away free copies from our stand.

https://t.co/iq2yK4Gp15

[Tom Sherrington @teacherhead]

Make teaching the job you want it to be. Be yourself, express yourself and have fun with it! https://t.co/FAcoQzBpHi via @teacherhead

[Robert Coe @ProfCoe]

@olicav So sorry to hear that, Oliver. Deepest sympathies

[Evidence Based Education @EvidenceInEdu]

We Need a Revolution in Professional Learning.

Over the past nine months, Professors @ProfCoe and @ProfKime have been working on a new paper.

The paper argues that while our understanding of teaching, learning, curriculum and the science of learning has moved forward, professional learning has not always kept pace.

The opportunity is to create a new normal: professional learning that is protected, purposeful and designed to build expertise over time.

In this short preview, Rob and Stuart explore why that matters, what the revolution could look like, and how schools, colleges and educators can get involved.

The paper will be published on 5 September 2026. Stay tuned!

[Alex Quigley @AlexJQuigley]

This post chimes with my experiences with schools across England I’ve worked with over the past few years. Good challenge & constructive ways forward here from @teacherhead

[Evidence Based Education @EvidenceInEdu]

High-quality teaching is for everyone. But what does it look like in the context of SEND?

We've published a SEND guide for teachers looking to use the Great Teaching Toolkit (GTT) to improve inclusive practice and provision.

The guide provides questions teachers can use to shape collaborative conversations about teaching of learners with SEND, and signposts resources within the GTT to explore this area further.

Download here https://t.co/KpOqEoDKDX

[Robert Coe @ProfCoe]

@5Naureen Thanks Naureen! Very kind